Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-06-12


il little chunks or pieces.
During the conversation he had fin
ished the work, reiidjusted and fastened
the cover into the rim, luted itwith red
lead, and refilled the box with his many
implements. With a CHEEKY "good-
night he disappeared in the darkness
on his way TO the next chamber down
Broadway.
A sToRY-wRrTER's OPPORTUNITIES.
Tie editor of Harper's Magozine,
Mr.. William NJ. Alden, is as busy a
man as you can find in town. His desk
is always hfaped with manuscripts OF
all kinds, from all sorts OF people, on all
sorts Of subjects, and they come from
all parts Of the universe. The first I'M
preston one gets as he looks at Mr..
Alden's desk is that one of Uncle Sans
mail-sacks has been emptled upon IT,
his is far from true, because the letters
piled there have been very carefully
read by another person, whose
duty it is to sift the wheat from the
chat and to decide whether the articles
he reads are meritorious. If he thinks
so he outlines the plot in few lines on
a little slip of paper, pins it to the ar
ticle, and sends 1t to Mr.. Alden, who Is
final arbiter, and who decides whether
any of the articles shall be used. n
good deal depends upon availability.
A very good article may be too long or
too short, or may have been recently
touched upon, or else contain some
idea that the editor does not approve.
But let Mr.. Alden speak for himself
What chance is there for young
writer in New York nowadays ? " / ask.
"A fair chance, think, " he replies.
"What / mean is, suppose young
man or woman should come to town
with no other capital than supposed
talent for writing. What sort of head
way could they make and what are their
chances of success?"
1.-The chances are greatly against
their making money"
"What kind of literature is most
likely to meet acceptance ? -
Short stories and poems. Women
are far more successful in writing these
than men. They are better equipped
to meet the demands of the age. Most
stories sent to the magazines by men
embody some attempt at a plot. Now,
almost every conceivable plot has been
invented, and it is almost a miracle
when anything strikingly original comes
TO us. Women, on the other hand, are
more apt TO employ situations which
admit of portrayal of subtle shades
of feeling. These are the successful
story writer's of the present day. In
poems the same holds good. Men
write poems of description and action,
women of passion and feeling
"Can YOU mention few men who
have made their way to reputation
through the medium of the maya
zines?"
eyes, there is Robert Burns Wilson,
The poet. He has never published a
volume If verse to my knowledge, yet
his reputation stands high. Then there
is Joel Chandler Harris, who first made
hit by his contributions to periodical
literature. George W. Gable owes
much to the magazines. and so does
Tom Page. | could mention Il num-
Der of others, such rs ". II. Bishop,
but their number il small compared
with the number Of women who have
succeeded"
"How are articles and stories paid
for by periodicals 4? "
"Wcll, the hest of them have an es-
tablished rate, generally so per 1909
words. OF course this Is not an in
flexible rule. Some especially good
articles are paid special prices. For
example, we have paid as high as
Il, Geo for fve-page poem. Stories
generally run from 800 to $3.50. The
prices huctuate a great deal. Much
depends upon the reputation of the
author. A man ike Bret Harte or a
woman like Constance FenimOre Wool
son can make demands which others
could not. Generally speaking young
writer's have q poor chance to make a
living from the magazines Some pre-
fer to try y book, but publishers are
chary. and the international copy
right is still a thing Of the future.
Young writer's, however, should con-
slider this: Very few of the successful
literary men Of the day achieved a
reputation until late in life. If they
have talent let that give them conf
dence that they will sooner or later
gain the reputation they so much
coyct."
THE POWER or An ACTOR.
No better illustration of what good
actors can do for a play has occurred
recently than Hypocrite" furnishes
at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre. The
play was written by the obtrusiye and
noisy John A. Stevens and another
man. The other mans name escapes
ne. So it does every one else. 1t IS
lost in the redundancy, force, and no.
toriety of John A. Stevens. The dra-
matte critics gave the play such twist
ing and scorching-hot condemnation
and abuse that the theatre has been
crowded to the doors ever since the
first night. "Hypocrite " came very
near being a great play 1t IS the
story of "Othello reversed. The
schemer, plotter, and villain is a
mulatto who hates his master
and first poisons his benefactor's
mind against his wife, and then
attempts to poison him. There is no
end Of striking situations, a scene with
a maniac and violent death. What
makes the productionremarkable is the
excellence of the cast. There are three
leading men in the principal parts -
Osmond Tearle, Herbert Kelsey, and
Newton Gotthold. The occasion offers
an admirable opportunity to compare
them. The honors for force and power
fall to Mr.. Gotthold, but Kelsey is in
excellent form, and Tearle has gained
much in grace and vivacity during his
recent tours both in America and Eng
land. The audience was three quarters
feminine. In many instances there
were three or four women in a party.
with only a small boy or prodigiously
sleepy old gentleman for an escort.
The women were always armed with
opera-glasses.
Can any one explain the extraordi-
nary charm that the fashionable lead
ing men exert ? New York is still talk
ing of the Kyrle Bellew farewell. The
actor was mobbed by women. 1t was
the occasion Of his last matinee before
he sailed for England. The company